Creamy Broccoli Soup

Lately, I have been trying to cook much lighter and healthier. My fiance'and I are both trying to modify all our favorite recipes to be less caloric. I love creamy soups and one of my favorites is cream of broccoli. The creamy factor of the soup is obviously the most important and can be achieved by blending or pureeing the soup the right way. The soup had tons of flavor and a really great texture! The best part...not one touch of cream or butter was in this soup!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

1.5 Pounds of Broccoli with Stems
1 Onion Chopped
1 Carrot Chopped
1 Celery Stalk, Chopped
2 Shallots Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
3 Slices of Canadian Bacon
5 Cups Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup of Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Olive Oil


1. In a little bit of olive oil, crisp up the Canadian Bacon.
2. Remove the bacon and turn down the heat.
3. Sweat out the onion, carrots, celery, shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sweating the veggies really brings out the flavor more. Keep the heat nice and low and keep the lid closed.
4. Add all the broccoli into the pot and sweat them for about 5 minutes. Until they have softened a bit.
5. Pour in all the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
6. Add all the broccoli and some of the liquid into a blender or food processor. Play around with the amount of liquid being poured in, since it will be put through a sieve it will lose some of its volume, it is important to not put all the liquid in.
7. Put the mixture through a sieve and finish of with just the splash of milk to add some creaminess to it.
8. Put some blanched broccoli florets on the bottom with the crispy Canadian Bacon. Ladle in the soup and enjoy!